As a senior citizen, you may be wondering if you're too old to get dental implants. This is something to discuss with your dentist, but as long as you are in good health, your age shouldn't be a factor when it comes to undergoing the procedure. In fact, dental implants can improve your quality of life as you age. Here are a couple of reasons why getting implants for your dentures is such a good idea.
You Can Eat A Wider Variety Of Foods
Nutrition becomes more important than ever when you get older, but if your dentures slip and slide as you eat, you may avoid certain foods. Your dentures may even pop out of your mouth when you bite down on things like corn on the cob. When you have implants, you don't have to worry about problems with eating because the implants hold your dentures firmly in place. You can eat any type of food you could eat with your natural teeth. The only caution is against eating very hard candy or crunching on ice. That's because you could chip one of the teeth in your dentures, and not because it would harm your implants.
You Avoid Speech Problems Caused By Loose Dentures …show more content…
One problem with wearing traditional dentures is that they have a tendency to get loose as time goes on.
That's because you don't have natural tooth roots to stimulate your gums, so your gums slowly shrink. This results in your dentures sliding when you speak. The plates may click, whistle, or in some other way affect your speech. This may even cause you to be less social because you find it embarrassing. Implants help overcome this problem in two ways. For one, the implants stimulate your gums, so they don't recede as quickly. Also, the implants hold the plates in your mouth much more firmly than denture cream ever could, so you never have to worry about your upper plate falling out when you laugh or talk. This could improve your self-confidence and help keep you more socially active as you
age.
If you're concerned about having to get several implants or a bone graft, you should talk to your dentist before you discount the idea of getting implants. Even if you already have some bone loss in your jaw, it may be possible to have implants put in at an angle or in some way that a bone graft isn't needed. Also, you won't need an implant for every tooth. You only need a few since they attach to the dental plate itself. If your budget is tight, you might try getting implants for your top plate only since the bottom one is usually the most secure. Implants eliminate many of the annoying problems caused by wearing dentures, so they are definitely worth considering no matter what your age.